Maturity of the Heart
by Star-chan and Neko
Summary: An short SD story. An anonymous couple helps to bring our favorite lovebirds a little closer togeather.


Star-chan: You know, it's been a while since I've written a short story.  
  
Neko: Translation: She's too lazy to work on anything else.  
  
Hart: Well, you haven't been helping.  
  
Neko: Now, why would I want to do such a stupid thing as that?  
  
DISCLAIMER:  
  
Star-chan: If I owned Sailor Moon, wouldn't it say "CLAIMER" up there?  
  
*~*  
  
Love. It's a revolutionary concept. It's trusting your soul and heart in the hands of a person who could easily take then away without a second thought. Sometimes I wonder if love is truly for me. I'm not as ditzy and air-headed as people see. I have deep thoughts. I can ephi-. . . ephia-. . . moments of clear thoughts. So what if I don't have an eleven-letter vocabulary. That doesn't make a person mature in the heart. Of course, some people would say I don't have that either. Like Darien used to.  
  
But that's a different story. Let me tell you how he found out I am mature, way before we ever got together in the first place.  
  
It was any other average day. Sleep, wake up to fight a demon at 3:00 A.M. in the park, oversleep, run to school while screaming my head off, argue with Darien, get a detention for being late, sleep, eat lunch with Amy and Lita, sleep, clean desks at detention, then run like mad for the arcade.  
  
Normally, after that would be 'get yelled at by Raye, then Luna', but the meeting was cancelled. Why said meeting was cancelled is, again, a different story. Another thing was different; Darien wasn't there. For some reason unknown to me at the time, it hurt. I didn't let it show, and I didn't want to ask Andrew because I didn't want him to get the wrong idea. I just sat at my Sailor V game, acting normal, trying to ignore the usual arrogant aura of my missing enemy.  
  
After successfully falling prey to the gaming company's evil scheme by wasting all my precious allowance without getting past the second level, I left the arcade, pondering Darien's absence. Since it was a Friday, I decided to wander through the park for an hour or so before returning for a frozen pizza dinner.  
  
That's where I found him. I sat down on a bench near the lilies, not noticing his figure hidden in the shadows of the other side of the dark bench. I jumped when he said in greeting, "Head in the clouds again, Meatball Head?"  
  
I glared in his direction. "Still nailed to the ground, jerk?" I retorted, the turned my glare on the lilies. We sat in silence for a while, he staring at me weirdly, me glaring so hard at the poor flowers that they look ready to wilt. Darien interrupted our moment of almost civility. "I didn't come here to listen to you whine."  
  
I do not whine! I just complain about my problems very loudly and with a higher pitched voice. That's not whining! I looked up to lock the jerk with my death glower, but it tripped over something on the other side of the path. The look melted off my face, turning into mushy eyes, and a small smile. "That's so sweet . . ." I sighed, watching the couple there talk and occasionally kiss.  
  
Darien, who had heard my comment, looked at me bewildered. I guess he didn't notice I wasn't directing that remark towards him. "If I knew you felt that way, Meatball Head," he started, "I would've stopped insulting you a long time ago."  
  
I gave him the evil eye. I hissed, "Not you, you egotistical jerk. I was talking about them." I jerked my head toward the involved couple. "And don't call me Meatball Head."  
  
He also looked at the couple, ice in his eyes. He shrugged. "What's so special about them?" he asked, keeping his voice down.  
  
I looked at him incredulously. "Can't you see how in love they are?" I questioned quietly. "It's so amazing. The perfect union."  
  
The ice in Darien's eyes still hadn't melted. "Love can only hurt," he retorted. I only shook my head, my eyes finding the cute couple.  
  
"Love can't hurt," I persisted. "Before you love someone, you have to trust them. Then that trust becomes love over time. It's not a thing you know right away. I may be an immature, ignorant, junior high kid, but I do know that."  
  
He shrugged again, passing off my lecture. Not wanting to continue the dead-end conversation, I stood and quietly stomped away.  
  
Once I was out of sight of the couple, I began to tread more heavily. I was really angry at that jerk. How could he just brush off love like that?!  
  
Suddenly, a hand grabbed mine, and a turned my head to see Darien standing there. 'What now?' I thought, an annoyed look crossing my face. "What?" I demanded.  
  
He smiled, *really* smiled at me. "I wouldn't say you're all that immature, Meatball Head," he said, letting my hand drop. "You more mature that I am, in some ways."  
  
At that point, I'm pretty sure I was doing a pretty good impression of a carp. *Darien* was admitting he was-wrong?! "Huh?"  
  
He shrugged again, but it seemed more natural. "You just are more mature emotionally. But this doesn't mean I'll always be this nice to you," he warned.  
  
I smiled back at him. I told him honestly, "I think that would make me even more angry with you."  
  
He patted me on my head, right between my buns, before walking away. I simmered on the inside, but right now, I'm pretty sure I was smiling like an idiot.  
  
Well, that ends that story. The next day, we went right back to the old routine. But I would like to thank that anonymous couple that helped me show Darien a side of me he wouldn't have ever seen before.  
  
*~*  
  
Star-chan: Aww. . . Wasn't that sweet?  
  
Hart: *sighs romantically*  
  
Neko: *gags*  
  
Star-chan: Well, that's all. Remember, review if you like.  
  
Neko: Or flames. Flames are good.  
  
Hart: Pyro.  
  
REVIEW! 


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